Welcome to Poetryclass

Fresh ideas for poetry learning from the Poetry Society

Poetryclass aims to enthuse and empower teachers, equipping them with fresh ideas and methods for making the most of poetry in the classroom.

With a wealth of free online resources, such as our acclaimed range of downloadable poetry lessons and website recommendations, together with extensive support in planning inset training with experienced poets, Poetryclass provides teachers with a 'nuts and bolts' insight into how poetry works. See the full list of the resources on the right at the top of this page or read more about them here.

"I often use the resources you have on your website which are inspirational and work fantastically in a classroom."

The Poetry Society has a long and successful history of education work. We find that working with poetry is not only a creative end in itself but also a powerful tool for raising standards in literacy and developing language skills. It frequently releases untapped potential amongst students who are not confident in traditional narrative or essay writing. It also offers exciting challenges to targeted groups of students and through subject areas across the curriculum.

Teachers are already aware of how poetry fits into the National Curriculum. It has many other advantages too:
• It comes in easily digestible sections
• There is a poem to fit even the smallest space on a school timetable
• It uses many kinds of structure and form, and is fun to imitate
• It accesses hidden talent in those who struggle with longer pieces of text
• It stretches the most able
• It requires real originality of thought
• There are opportunities for publication of young people's poems, and prizes to be won
• It requires only pen and paper, so it's cheap!

To start developing a poetry-active culture in your school, call on the resources of Poetryclass.

"Many of the teachers said it was the best INSET they had ever attended ... carefully planned and very well delivered."

The Poetry Society's Poetryclass project supports educators, poets and parents in using poetry for learning. Please browse below for the kinds of support we can offer.

Email: poetryclass@poetrysociety.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7420 9880


Click here for lesson plans